So yesterday, I finished watching Ozark. I was late to the party, but very disappointed in the ending. I won't share any spoilers.
I've been disappointed by a lot of TV shows endings, or even just later series going downhill. The second season of House of the Dragon was disappointing, and the ending of Game of Thrones still annoys me now.
So I was just wondering, what are some of the biggest/most successful shows that have actually ended well?
I've seen a lot online about shows like Dexter, LOST etc also ending poorly (not watched for this reason), so I guess I was just wondering if it is really difficult to achieve a big successful show with a good ending. And does it put you off trying out a successful show, like Game of Thrones, knowing that audiences aren't happy with the ending?
Always the best answer. Cheating really. 🙂
I look forward to it being dethroned though, because whatever does will have to be AWESOME.
1
violueApr 2, 2026
+1
I genuinely hated the ending and always skip most of the last season on rewatch.
I get why people loved it *and* understand that most people didn't see it the way I do, but for me the finale was a turducken of nihilism, existential terror, and suicidal ideation.
1
SebscreenApr 2, 2026
Best TV finale in history!
0
DamienStarkApr 2, 2026
+3
Not while Six Feet Under exists.
But yeah Good Place ended very well indeed.
3
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
Actually yes, this really did end perfectly.
0
[deleted]Apr 2, 2026
-8
[deleted]
-8
HeirOfEgypt526Apr 2, 2026
+5
Yeah the OP is asking for shows that ended well.
5
RandethApr 2, 2026
+6
The Americans ended SO well.
6
adder__Apr 2, 2026
+3
Came here to recommend The Americans as well. Rarely has there been a show that remained so solid the entire run, and left you satisfied at the end.
3
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+3
Ooh maybe I'll give it a shot then!
3
Conscious-Quarter423Apr 2, 2026
+15
Schitt's Creek
15
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+2
Yeah good shout actually, I did love the ending.
2
Zombienerd300Apr 2, 2026
+17
Mr. Robot
17
Scruffylookin13Apr 2, 2026
+5
I came in here to say this. As a series, Mr. Robot might be the most complete put together series that I enjoy. If it weren't for the slightest of stumbles during season 2, I would argue for it being just as completely solid as Breaking Bad, and I personally prefer Mr Robot myself
5
Kadde-Apr 2, 2026
+1
Is there really a stumble in season 2 though? Only the first 4-5 episodes are a bit confusing and all over the place. But then it picks up and things start making sense and it has some great episodes after.
1
Scruffylookin13Apr 3, 2026
+1
Its been a while since I've been active in discussions about it but im pretty sure S2 is considered the weakest.
Imo its fine. My biggest critique is that it feels like after S1, it kinda felt like they felt like they had to have another big twist. S3/4 was less about one specific big reveal and more of an all around mind f***
1
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+1
Ooooh I've been recommended this, maybe I should give it a shot then!
1
Scary_SarahApr 2, 2026
+17
Succession
17
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+2
Oh has the show ended? I wasn't sure if it was still going on. Maybe I'll give it a shot then!
2
Scary_SarahApr 2, 2026
+1
yes it ended in 2023
1
charlesdemar88Apr 2, 2026
+10
Mad Men, Halt and Catch Fire, Blackadder
10
CaciulacdlacApr 2, 2026
+17
Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul
17
ElectroSporeApr 2, 2026
+8
Start Trek the next generation ends on one of its best episodes (often ranked in the top 10 best episodes). It has a rough first 2 seasons then hits its stride ending very well. There is also a lot of great character development and episodes in the last season in general. Very good for a show with 7 seasons.
8
jike1003Apr 2, 2026
+8
Halt and Catch Fire. Best ending for a series I’ve ever watched. Never seen a show that changed so much from the pilot, but felt completely organic and earned and beautiful.
8
ariososweetApr 2, 2026
+10
Six Feet Under
10
QuarrieMcQuarrieApr 2, 2026
+8
The Americans
Succession
8
WySLatestWitApr 2, 2026
+9
Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Star Trek The Next Generation are the holy trinity of "nailed it" finishes.
9
TheNerdChaplainApr 2, 2026
+3
Deep Space 9 as well
3
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
I did love how breaking bad ended, didn't love the film though!
0
WySLatestWitApr 2, 2026
I think the film is pretty good if you're really invested in Jesse - my girlfriend was - but it does feel like an unnecessary epilogue where not much happens. But Jesse drops a reference to Appleton Wisconsin, where I'm from, and it's not often one of your favorite characters references your own hometown. So that was neat.
It's the weakest chapter in the Breaking Bad universe but I still like it overall.
0
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+2
Jesse was my favourite character, but yeah I guess it just didn't feel necessary, as the ending already felt perfect. Cool about your hometown though!
Lost ending is definitely not universally accepted as great whereas I'd say the others are.
7
ogrezillaApr 2, 2026
+3
No but it’s far from universally accepted as bad either.
3
kill_time_and_workApr 2, 2026
+2
Six Feet Under 2001 as well
2
Efficient_PaperApr 2, 2026
+3
I know its reputation, but I never watched it.
3
[deleted]Apr 2, 2026
-4
[deleted]
-4
WhyethApr 2, 2026
+1
Bro, read the thread title before you comment more and get downvoted. This is a thread for perfect endings
1
Exotic-West3751Apr 2, 2026
+2
Game of Thrones, The Blacklist, OG Dexter
2
Mediocre-Touch-6133Apr 2, 2026
+2
Pretty sure this is some trolling but I completely agree with giving troll answers to karma farming questions.
2
Im-A-Tomato-1744Apr 3, 2026
+1
So true! GOT and Dexter were notoriously bad. I struggled with later seasons of the Blacklist and gave up after S7 I think... I must look up what happened in the end because no way I'm going to ever watch it if it's in a list with those other two 😂
1
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+1
Putting Game of Thrones in your list of good endings just automatically makes me assume we wouldn't agree on taste, sorry! I still get mad about the ending now!
1
Exotic-West3751Apr 2, 2026
+1
It ends well for the characters in it
1
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+1
Hard disagree!
1
Exotic-West3751Apr 2, 2026
+1
GoT: world saved from dragons
Blacklist and Dexter: world saved from serial killer
1
Old-Meringue3590Apr 2, 2026
+5
Veep, Succession, Six Feet Under
5
realhenrymccoyApr 2, 2026
+3
The Wire. Might be controversial as the last season overall isn’t the best but it ends beautifully and drives home one of the major themes of the show.
3
noyotoApr 2, 2026
+2
Every season of The Wire has a solid ending that doesn't require you to watch the rest of the show.
2
ResidentTVCriticApr 2, 2026
+3
12 monkeys
Homeland
3
ogrezillaApr 2, 2026
+3
Don’t listen to the Lost hate. The show has some dips, but the ending is really good.
3
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+1
Ooof haha. I think after I give Ozark a chance, and how disappointed I felt with the ending, I've been really put off watching anything with controversial opinions about how it ends. I hate being disappointed. And I'm about to be a mum for the first time, so I feel like binge watching TV shows with my husband will be few and far between for a while, so gotta pick wisely!
1
Petrichor02Apr 2, 2026
+1
People who are disappointed with Lost's ending usually fall into one of 5 camps.
Either 1) they misunderstood the ending (either because a) they watched it in the background and didn't pay close attention to what was being said, b) they skipped straight to the ending after having dropped it seasons back, or c) they were expecting the show to have some huge show-redefining twist at the very end, and then they interpreted certain dialogue at the end of the show to support this show-redefining expectation, completely misinterpreting what was said), 2) they were disappointed that the answers that the show provided didn't match their theories (this camp is almost entirely built up of people who watched the show week-to-week as it was airing; I never hear this complaint from people who binged the show), 3) they believe that the show didn't answer enough questions (which kind of goes back to the not-paying-attention thing because most of the show's questions were answered; fewer than 10 questions that had bearing on the main plot of the show went unanswered, and several of those were answered in the show's supplemental material), 4) they expected the show to explain all of its weirdness through hard science, and therefore were upset when some of the weirdness was explained through sci-fi science rather than hard science (this is exacerbated in the final season of the show when certain characters who don't understand the sci-fi nature of the science are introduced and basically interpret the science as magic because that's their best way of understanding it given their circumstances), or 5) they hate any sort of media that references religion or religious ideas of any kind, explicit or implied.
Not everyone who was disappointed in the show falls into one of these camps, but this probably covers 95+% of people who were disappointed with the show's ending. If you know what you're getting into, plan to binge the show and pay close attention to it, and don't have an issue with mentions of religion or religiously-affiliated ideas in a show, it is extremely unlikely that you'll be disappointed in the ending.
1
Im-A-Tomato-1744Apr 3, 2026
I must be one of the 5% you mention, but personally I just found the whole thing rather underwhelming.
It was clear the showrunners didn't have a plan for how it would end\*. They just kept adding more and more twists and mysteries without any idea how they would come together (by their own admission), so I'm not sure it was even possible to come up with a truly satisfying, worthy ending that would tie all those disparate threads together.
\* My theory is that they did have a plan initially - the island was purgatory. But a huge number of viewers guessed that early on and they didn't want to admit they were right, so they said "nope, it's not" and trapped themselves into a "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" process for the rest of the series.
0
kuhpunktApr 3, 2026
+1
By their own admission? Not true.
And the island wasn't purgatory.
1
MatthewHechtApr 2, 2026
+3
Parks and Rec
Super Friends
Mystery Incorporated
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2K3
Wordgirl
Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman
3
RandethApr 2, 2026
+3
Mystery Incorporated is by far the best Scooby-Doo series. It was so good and a crime it didn't continue. But it did end so well.
3
Stupid_Ned_StarkApr 2, 2026
+2
LOST didn’t end poorly, people are just dumb or weren’t paying attention. It’s still the absolute pinnacle of network TV.
2
ARC--1409Apr 3, 2026
+1
There are very few. The Americans, The Shield, 12 Monkeys, Pantheon... in my mind the greatest show ending is The Clone Wars by far... it was a gut punch that lasted for many days after.
1
Conscious-Quarter423Apr 2, 2026
Fleabag
0
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+1
I did love Fleabag. I did crave more seasons, same as The Inbetweeners and Derry Girls which I put in the same boat of that it's nice they ended when they did rather than losing their charm.
1
ThingCalledLightApr 2, 2026
+1
A show “ending well” is largely subjective. I thought Ozark ended perfectly, for example.
Yes, there are widely-shared opinions. But you’re asking what shows have “actually” ended well, which suggests some sort of objectivity.
That’s impossible to determine.
Question: When you say they’re “disappointing,” is it because you had an idea in mind—either in concept or scale—and it didn’t match it? Is it because it was unfaithful to the rest of the show? Or?
1
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+1
True, it is subjective. I guess this is just looking at the audience's responses to the ending. I had already heard a lot of disappointing reviews about the ending of Ozark, but I'd managed to avoid spoilers and just thought I'd give it a go.
Without sharing spoilers, my major gripe was a lot of plot holes. I didn't mind the ending not really being an 'ending,' and the general theme of it felt pretty fitting. But I felt like they introduced a lot of late characters and story arcs that didn't really go anywhere. Also felt some of the characters had a bit of a slump to their arc, or things happened too quickly and didn't make any sense. Some decisions felt really out of character. I didn't really go in with expectations, if anything I was already expecting something disappointing from reviews but still wanted to give it a go, in case I disagreed. Like for stranger things, I wasn't as disappointed by the ending as a lot of audiences seem to be.
1
PlumCrazyAvenueApr 2, 2026
+1
LOST is such a polarizing ending that i myself have been on both sides. watching live i was not satisfied by pretty much the entire final season, and found the finale underwhelming.
yet ive rewatched the show(background or throw on before bed type viewing) and i found myself really liking the finale(still find the final season to be the worst season of the series)
1
TourgottApr 2, 2026
+1
Person of Interest
1
Underwater_KarmaApr 2, 2026
+1
The whole car accident at the end of Ozark, complete with previous foreshadowing was just so pointless and non sequitur.
Why was that even there?
1
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+1
Yeah honestly, so much pointless stuff in there.
1
ogrezillaApr 2, 2026
+1
The Americans has a great ending
1
Muad-_-DibApr 2, 2026
+1
Life on Mars the original UK version.
And its sequel series Ashes to Ashes.
LoM was actually voted by the uk public some years ago as the best tv finale in history.
1
Decent_Tiger_9369Apr 3, 2026
+1
Not sure why you were downvoted, like you said the LOM ending was considered great by many people. I didn’t see AtoA though… was it more controversial or something?
1
ArtisticMinimum1950Apr 2, 2026
+1
If you want a show with the best ending of all time, watch Six Feet Under.
1
OctogenarianApr 2, 2026
+1
Star Trek The Next Generation.
The Captain finally decides to join the crew for p**** night. “Five card stud, nothing wild… and the sky’s the limit.”
From there, you can just assume the crew goes on being awesome together and continuing to solve hard problems together and working together as a team.
1
cabernet7Apr 2, 2026
+1
The Americans
The Leftovers
Reservation Dogs
Derry Girls
BoJack Horseman
1
adsfewApr 2, 2026
For years, I would say Scrubs ended beautifully if you ignored the spin-off season 9.
Now it has a revival, so I don't know if you can really call that the ending anymore.
0
ashleighjosApr 2, 2026
+2
What I love about Scrubs is that we can just agree to ignore the spin-off and then it is perfect -lmao. I don't really feel like that can be done for any other show, but just goes to show how little the spin-off added.
I've been enjoying the revival so far!
2
baldboneheadApr 2, 2026
+1
Fully agree on both points
1
Conscious-Quarter423Apr 2, 2026
Charmed
0
JazrakApr 2, 2026
Mad Men, & The Leftovers
0
thewholebottleApr 2, 2026
Monk.
(Don't watch the movie.)
0
Zero-CredibilityApr 2, 2026
The wire
0
LoocsinatasYTApr 2, 2026
battlestar galactica has one of my favorite endings of all time
0
BonoChrisApr 2, 2026
Definitely Black Sails. It was so good I was hoping they would make a spinoff with Rackham and Bonny.
0
PlatyPunchApr 2, 2026
-1
I thought Everybody Loves Raymond ended well. Which is surprising considering the quality of the last few seasons.
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